An Indigenous body elected to negotiate a treaty in Victoria has called for the state government to raise the age of criminal responsibility and "stop locking up our children".
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The co-chairs of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria have written to state Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes to stress the need for immediate change, saying treaty must not be used as an excuse to stall reform.
"This does not need to, nor should it, wait for treaty," reads the letter, signed by Aunty Geraldine Atkinson and Marcus Stewart.
"It is a much needed, sensible, compassionate, evidence-based and simple reform that community overwhelmingly supports. We want the government to stop locking up our children."
Children as young as 10 across Australia can be arrested by police, remanded in custody, convicted by the courts and jailed.
Australia's attorneys-general last month agreed to support a proposal to raise the minimum age from 10 to 12 after the federal government faced pressure from more than 30 United Nations countries.
But the independent Indigenous group has urged Ms Symes to listen to the experts and legislate a change to 14 years, recommended by Victoria's Commission for Children and Young People in June.
There were nearly 600 children aged between 10 and 13 in custody in 2018/19, according to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. More than 60 per cent were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.
The ACT is currently the only state or territory committed to changing the age of criminal responsibility to 14, while the WA government passed a similar motion in October.
Both Victorian Labor and the Liberal/Nationals in March rejected a Greens bill to raise the state's age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, and the minor party is urging the government to reconsider supporting its stance.
"This reform could happen tomorrow, we just need the political will," Greens justice spokesman Tim Read said in a statement on Tuesday.
A Victorian government spokeswoman confirmed it was "working to develop and consider a proposal" to up the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12.
"In the meantime, we're continuing to tackle the root causes of youth offending, because the best outcome for young people is to avoid contact with the justice system in the first place," she said in a statement.
Australian Associated Press
